John McLaughlin

Best known as a jazz fusion pioneer and virtuoso guitarist, John McLaughlin refuses to be pigeonholed, saying "I'm not trying to make any kind of fusion—it just happens that way." Over the course of a professional career that started in jazz and pop but has encompassed the blues, R&B and classical music, as well as presaging world music with significant forays into flamenco and Indian music, McLaughlin has been a profoundly influential recording artist and bandleader, whether blazing on electric guitar or simmering on acoustic.